VShael writes: Charles Stross (sometimes contributor to The Guardian newspaper) has reported on a bizarre statement made in the UK's House of Lords by Lord James of Blackheath. Not a viral marketing tool for some new conspiracy thriller, and not a Nigerian 419 scam (so please, leave the jokes out of the comments), apparently some mysterious Foundation which wishes to remain unnamed has been conducting secret talks with high members of the government in order to invest untold billions in to the UK economy. But there's a catch.Also mentioned in The Guardian, hereLink to Original Source

VShael writes: For those who don't like needles, we may soon have an alternative to the annual flu jab.

Immuron, an Australian company, has two anti-diarrhoea products on the market already, and they are soon to add a third. All three products are based on bovine anti-bodies, produced in cow's milk after the animals have been inoculated with a virus.

It is expected that the spray, called Flubody, will be launched within 18 months, according to Oren Fuerst, spokesman for Immuron, the Australian company developing it. Scientists at Immuron say Flubody acts immediately and could even stop the disease in its tracks.

"It is applied directly to the respiratory mucosa (the lining of the respiratory tract), where it can prevent infection of cells by the virus. And, perhaps more importantly, it can stop an active infection from spreading from cell to cell, thereby stopping the progress of disease," according to Fuerst.

This process is 100 times cheaper than current vaccine production methods that involve cloned and highly purified monoclonal antibodies, he says.

A single 50 microgram dose reduced the level of infection a hundredfold compared to untreated mice. But a 1,000 microgram dose completely cleared the virus in all animals treated, he indicates.Link to Original Source

VShael writes: "(Disclaimer : I'm both Irish and work for the EU Commission)

The head of the Irish police force has requested that Irish cell phone providers (Vodaphone, 02, Meteor, 3) retain detailed information on the web pages that people view over their handheld devices.

This information would be held over for "possible future criminal investigations", but would be gathered without a warrant, probable cause, or without the citizen being suspected of a crime.

This request goes way beyond the European Union's data retention directive, which never included retention of web-based email.

Representatives of Vodafone, O2 and 3 discussed the letter at a meeting with Mr Davis (6th November 2008) and questioned the legal basis under which they could retain this data. It is their understanding that the content of calls or e-mails, or details on webpages browsed, are excluded from the EU directive. As such, any retention or disclosure of that information would be a violation of existing EU data protection legislation."Link to Original Source